DIY Mini Witch Brooms

There's something about Halloween that makes me want to head outside, gather up whatever nature has left behind, and turn it into something a little magical.

These DIY mini witch brooms are one of those wonderfully simple Halloween projects. Made mostly from sticks, twigs, dried grasses and other bits you can forage outside, every little broom ends up looking slightly different — crooked, rustic and perfectly witchy.

They're also a fun excuse to get outside. Take the kids on a walk around the yard, through the woods or along a trail and have them hunt for interesting sticks, tiny branches, dried grasses and other natural treasures. Bring everything home, spread your finds out on the table and see what you can create.

Use your finished mini brooms on a Halloween table, tuck them into a spooky centrepiece, hang them around the house or tie on little name tags and use them as place settings.

What You'll Need

Most of your supplies can come straight from outside.

• —Small sticks or branches for the broom handles
• —Thin twigs, dried grasses, pine needles or other natural material for the broom bristles
• —Jute twine or natural string
• —Scissors
• —Pruning shears for trimming thicker sticks
• —Hot glue gun, optional
• —Small pieces of ribbon, tags or other decorations, optional

A little tip: Don't look for perfectly straight sticks. Knots, bends, and imperfections are exactly what make these little brooms look as though they belong to a witch.

Give Each Broom a Little Personality

This is where you can have some fun. Leave your brooms completely natural or dress them up with things you already have around the house.

Tie a tiny black ribbon around one. Add a little kraft-paper tag to another. Tuck a sprig of dried lavender or rosemary beneath the twine. Add a small black feather. Tie on an old-fashioned name tag.

You could even make tiny Halloween tags with names such as:

• —The Midnight Flyer
• —Witch Hazel
• —The Raven
• —Moonlight Express
• —Broom No. 13

If you're making these with kids, let everyone name their own broom. No two need to look alike.

Turn Them Into Halloween Place Settings

One of my favourite ways to use these would be on a Halloween table. Lay a miniature broom across each plate or napkin and attach a little handwritten name tag.

Surround the table with branches, candles, dried leaves, little pumpkins and other things you've collected outside and suddenly you've created an entire Halloween tablescape without needing bins full of store-bought decorations. You could also make each broom slightly different so everyone gets their own. And when dinner is finished, guests can take their little broom home.

Make a Haunted Forest Centrepiece

If you're already out gathering sticks, bring home a few larger, interesting branches too. Place them in an old vase, bottle or jar and use them to create a spooky little Halloween tree. Mini witch brooms can be tucked around the bottom, leaned against the vase or even hung from the branches with string.

Add handmade bats, tiny ghosts, dried leaves or little twig spiderwebs and you've got the beginnings of a wonderfully crooked haunted forest. The more imperfect it is, the better.

A Halloween Craft to Make With Kids

This is an especially fun project to do with children because making the broom is only half the activity. The adventure starts outside.

Let them forage for their own supplies, choose their broom handles and decide what their witch broom should look like. An adult should handle pruning shears and hot glue, but kids can gather materials, arrange their bristles, choose ribbons and tags and decorate their finished brooms.

You could even turn the afternoon into a little Halloween tradition: go for a walk, collect your supplies, come home and make witch brooms together.

More Ways to Use Your Mini Witch Brooms

Once you start making these, you'll probably think of places to put them everywhere.

• —Make several in different sizes and display them together on a mantle or shelf.
• —Lean one against a stack of old books.
• —Tuck one beside a pumpkin.
• —Hang tiny versions from branches.
• —Tie them onto Halloween treat bags.
• —Add them to a wreath.
• —Use them as gift toppers.

Or simply put a handful in an old jar and call it the witch's broom cupboard.

Make It Your Own

There really isn't a right way to make these. Use whatever you can find outside. Mix different textures. Make some skinny and scraggly and others thick and wild. Leave the sticks natural or decorate them. Make tiny ones for your table and larger ones to display around the house.

That's part of what I love about decorating with things found in nature — you're never going to make exactly the same thing twice.

So grab a basket, head outside and see what you can find. A pile of sticks might not look particularly exciting at first. But add a little twine and some Halloween imagination, and you just might have yourself a tiny witch's broom.